Undisclosed Buyer Pays $293M for Metro Atlanta’s Largest Hotel

Atlanta Marriott Marquis

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

The 1,663-room Atlanta Marriott Marquis recently traded owners, but no investor has yet claimed responsibility for the $293 million acquisition. Seller Host Hotels & Resorts announced that the sale went through on January 11, but has been reluctant to provide extra information.

The $293 price tag is considerably smaller than the approximately $400 million estimated when the property hit the market, in June 2012. The hotel had only traded once before, when Host Hotels & Resorts purchased it for $229.5 million in January 1998.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Robert Webster and Tim Southard of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group brokered the deal on behalf of Host Hotels.

In an official release, the Maryland-based company said it will use the proceeds to fund future acquisitions, pay down debt or for general company purposes.

“I am excited to report our continued success in executing our asset sale strategy. In the past 12 months, we have sold four hotels for approximately $450 million. This sale meaningfully reduces our overall market presence in Atlanta, which now represents approximately 3 percent of our total revenues,” said Gregory J. Larson, executive vice president, corporate strategy, Host Hotels & Resorts.

The 1,663-unit Atlanta Marriott Marquis, metro Atlanta’s largest hotel, has been around since 1985. It holds 1,569 rooms, 94 suites, 61 meeting rooms and more than 28,000 square feet of exhibit space. Host Hotels & Resorts paid approximately $140 million for an extensive renovation of the Marquis in the summer of 2008.

Atlanta Marriott Marquis atrium

The John Portman-designed building is the 14th tallest skyscraper in the city, rising 52 stories (554 ft.). The Marriott Marquis’ defining feature is its large atrium—spanning over the entire height of the building and consisting of two vertical chambers divided by elevator shafts and bridges; it held the record of largest atrium in the world for many years, a record broken by Burj Al-Arab in Dubai. The hotel has also served as location for filming scene parts of the recent Denzel Washington movie, “Flight,” and the upcoming “Hunger Games” sequel, “Catching Fire,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The hotel is subject to a long-term management agreement with Marriott International, Inc.